IT ISN’T ABOUT TRADE: China Raises Taxes on Imported Cars.

Chinese buyers of eye-poppingly expensive luxury cars will have to pay extra under Beijing’s latest effort to rein in ostentatious spending.

The communist government has added a 10 percent import tax, effective Thursday, on “super-luxury vehicles” priced above 1.3 million yuan ($190,000). The Finance Ministry said it is aimed at encouraging “rational consumption” and curbing energy use and emissions.

Chinese leaders are trying to nurture domestic consumption to reduce reliance on trade and investment, but worry extravagant spending by the elite is politically dangerous at a time of slowing economic growth.

Free and fair elections and a transparent economy would help Beijing with the whole legitimacy thing, don’t you know.

RELATED: See this morning’s post on China’s difficult-to-impossible-yet-totally-necessary switchover from an export-driven economy to one driven by consumer spending.